Michigan State continues a lack of an identity

Well… Minnesota beats MSU 34-7 in a game that nothing went right for the Spartans. This is not the same Spartan team from last year. Michigan State has yet to find an identity this season.

MSU and Minnesota are getting ready to rumble for kickoff at 3:30 pm ET #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/wCnHrjX5kl

— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) September 24, 2022

Minnesota looks like they’re ready to take the West Division in the Big Ten this year. The Golden Gophers definitely deserve to be ranked after this performance. Mohamed Ibrahim is a special player and had another big game. Ibrahim had 22 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Tanner Morgan had a great game as well going 23-26 for 268 yards with 3 touchdowns. I was extremely impressed watching P. J. Fleck on the sideline with the way he handled himself as a head coach. It was a big day for Gophers’ football and they should be excited for this season.

Flipping it over to Michigan State… I thought Noah Kim looked good when he came in for the final drive and got the Spartans on the scoreboard. Injuries were a massive issue for Michigan State again in this game. Simeon Barrow, Khris Bogle, and Maverick Hansen all went down with injuries throughout the game. Bogle’s injury appeared to be the worst with him being helped to the locker room.

38 yards

I’m not sure what was worse, the offense or defense for Michigan State. Payton Thorne said after the game he needed to be better. Thorne went 17-24 for 132 yards and two picks. Cade McDonald led MSU in receiving yards with 31 yards. The wide receivers were a non-factor. MSU running backs combined for 38 rushing yards.

“We were terrible on third down defensively.” said Mel Tucker.

This is just one of the many problems that the defense had. The pass rush was no better from last week in Washington, and they recorded zero sacks. The secondary was still horrid and there wasn’t much to say about it. It seems to be a schematic and personnel issue for Michigan State.

The Spartans travel to Maryland to take on the Terps next Saturday. MSU will struggle to stop the star powered offense of the Terps. After the loss to Minnesota, MSU needs to beat Maryland or this will be a long season for the Spartans.